Again Again
by Quillilism
Summary: On Rika's 18th Birthday, Calumon delivers a message from the Digital World. The Tamers need to return to the DigiWorld to collect the 8 DigiMemories in order to stop the emergence of their greatest enemy yet. Can they find these elusive items in time? And can they stay friends, or more-than-friends, along the way?
1. Chapter 1

She stepped off-stage to rapturous applause. This was what she loved most about the job, all the attention and admiration she received from the beckoning crowd. It still surprised her every time it happened. It was, after all, only 4 years since she'd even started singing properly.

It had been Takato's idea. He had heard her singing while under the control of Parasimon. After her birthday party, Renamon and Takato had begun scheming and plotting ways to get Rika to take singing lessons. They spent months on hair-brained schemes which ranged from placing coordinates underneath her pillow – in the hope that she'd follow them out of curiosity – to simply dragging her into a room with Kazu's aunt, who happened to be a singing teacher. Nothing they could do seemed to persuade her that she had a real talent. But all it really took was - - him.

* * *

_When the phone rang on that cold November morning, she already knew something was wrong. The sound of a glass smashing on the floor only served to confirm her fear. She had run through to the main room of the house, Renamon hot on her heels, to be welcomed by the sight of her shell-shocked grandmother, mouth still agape, her hands held limply at her side. The phone had joined the smashed remains of a trifle dish on the floor._

'_It's him;' she breathed, 'isn't it?' Her grandmother's head sagged and then rose again, but only very slightly. 'Is he OK?' No answer. _

_At the funeral, she had maintained a stony silence. Renamon kept a silent vigil at her side. This suited her fine; at least it kept her terrified relatives from offering her empty condolences and heartfelt nothings. As the casket slid behind the curtains and into the waiting flame beyond, she rose from her seat, not bothering to wipe the streaming tears from her face, and left._

_Her mother found her later, sat on a hill overlooking the graveyard, underneath a sweeping willow tree. She didn't even try to talk to her; she just took her into a warm embrace and let her cry herself to sleep._

_At the reading of the will, she sat between her mother and her least-favourite, most-unappealing uncle on her father's side. She edged her chair further towards her mother, who offered a reassuring hand for her to hold._

'_And to my beautiful daughter Miss Rika Nonaka, I leave my entire estate other than what has been otherwise promised above, to be entrusted in a fund until her 18__th__ birthday. Further to this, I leave a letter, to be found in my bureau…'_

_She had expected as such, her father didn't have any other children and he wasn't very close to his relatives. He had left certain heirlooms and pieces of furniture as peace offerings to his neighbours and siblings, but she had inherited the estate. It wasn't like she needed the money anyway; her mother was a famous model. She just felt hollow. It wasn't even as if she had known him particularly well, she had barely ever seen him. Maybe that just made it worse._

_The letter was handed to her by the executor of the will; a work-friend of her father's who had received a selection of paintings and books from her father's collection. His eyes were full of sadness as they connected with hers and for a moment she felt the burden of grief lifted from her shoulders, to be shared with this man, whom she barely knew. But it was fleeting and before long she had turned and walked from the room._

_In the car on the way home, the letter stayed in the glove compartment and her eyes remained fixed on the road ahead. She wouldn't allow herself to cry again. Not again…_

"_Rika, if you're reading this letter, I'm talking to you in the worst of circumstances…or you've been snooping through my bureau again – if so, get out! But, I really shouldn't be making jokes at a time like this. I'm leaving you everything, it's not much and it won't go particularly far in Tokyo, but your mother has made such a name for herself that I'm sure money isn't an issue for you anymore. But, knowing you, you're probably too proud to accept her money anyway. But this letter isn't about what I'm leaving you in the will or about your mother. It's about me and you. I know that I've not been a very good father and you've had to grow up without me and I'm not going to make any excuses. I'm glad that we're finally getting to know one another properly but I can never make up for what I've done. Hopefully, by the time you read this you'll have children of your own – grandchildren even. But if this comes far too early, remember this. No man is an island. No one can go through their life alone. You have friends, great friends. Cling onto them and never let go. Don't use this as an excuse to draw yourself into your shell and go out in the world alone. Let your heart open up to those closest to you. Open your heart and sing. I love you and I will always love you Rika, never forget that._

_Dad x"_

_A single tear drop fell onto the page, just below her father's signature. That was an improvement. She had cried for a full twenty minutes the first time she had read the letter. It was full of her father and she clung onto that fact. He had written that, those were his words._

_Months later, one sentence was etched into her mind irretrievably. "Open your heart and sing." She reached for her phone and dialled Kazu's number._

'_Rika! What an honour it is to receive a call from the Digimon Queen herself! How're you holding up?' Kazu's voice rattled down from the other end of the line._

'_Watch it!' Rika warned, 'I'm fine, Kazu, thanks for asking. I – I wanted to – Well, I just thought – I'd really like it – I want – Can you…'_

'_Are you alright Rika?'_

'_I'm fine. I just need – I want to start singing lessons.'_

* * *

And that was that. Here she was now with a regular gig at a local music venue as a warm-up act. This was her last gig as a 17-year old. Tomorrow was her 18th birthday and she was already dreading the annual party at her house which was bound to happen tomorrow. Knowing Takato and her grandmother, they'd probably been planning it since this time last year.

There was a knock at her dressing room door. 'Come in' she said, while attempting to tie all her hair back up into her trademark ponytail. She always wore it down on stage; she wanted to keep her singing image different to her famous Digimon Queen persona.

'Hello Princess' a voice said through the gap in the door, 'Am I alright to come in?'

'What's with all the chivalry, you wouldn't normally even knock Ryo!'

'Well, tonight's a special occasion. I'm trying to be a gentleman.'

'I thought tomorrow was the special day.'

'Well, I thought that everyone would want to see you tomorrow, so I thought we could go out tonight and have a little alone time – at that French restaurant you like in Nakano.'

'But my grandmoth–'

'Knows. I spoke to her yesterday and she knows.'

'I've left Monodramon with Jeri and told Renamon to go and wait at your house. We're going to have some proper alone time.'

'You're so sweet sometimes.' She kissed him softly on the lips before pulling away to take out her earrings. 'Meet me out front in 20 minutes.'

'Can't you just go in what you're wearing?' The look he received told him not to question her. That's what he gets for going out with someone like Rika.

Twenty minutes later they were walking along the road to the station. It was early in the spring evening and it was still light and pleasantly warm. It was quiet and peaceful as Rika linked her fingers with his and he smiled wryly.

The train ride was quick and they both managed to get seats. She'd discovered this small restaurant when her mother's latest boyfriend, who was French, took them out for her grandmother's birthday in March. His uncle had recommended this place which looked completely run-down, tucked behind the shops in a side street. Once inside, however, the restaurant was a charming little bistro, straight out of Europe. The food was divine and the atmosphere was perfect. She had taken Ryo there on a date a couple of weeks later and he loved it too. The boyfriend was dumped a few weeks after that, but Rika continued coming out to Nakano with Ryo to visit this little hideaway. It was the perfect place to escape the real world of Shinjuku for an evening. Ryo always knew just how to make her happy.

They took their seats in the far corner of the restaurant. The train ride had got them onto the topic of Locomon.

'I can't believe it's 5 years since it happened!' Rika was saying.

'And tomorrow you'll be 18! A big girl at last!' That comment elicited a sharp kick under the table. 'Ow! I thought you liked me!'

'And I thought you were supposed to be treating me.'

* * *

Rika had been completely oblivious to Ryo's constant flirting when they had first met and it wasn't until after she had been attending singing lessons for about 6 months before she started to take him seriously. It happened after the final of the Digimon Card Tournament. The final was a rematch of their famous clash four years previously – when Ryo had come out as victor. She had won the following year but he was already in the digital world, neither of them competed the following year because of the D-Reaper and the year after that Rika's father had just died so she chose not to compete, Ryo took the crown. Rika was hungry to take back the title and she wasn't going to let Ryo beat her this time.

'_Antylamon digivolve to Cherubimon!' Rika cried triumphantly. 'Now I have a Mega Digimon and all you have are snivelling Rookies. I'm going to enjoy this Ryo.'_

'_Not so fast Rika, I play "Corrupting Influence" which turns your Cherubimon into my puppet. Say goodbye to that titl- Hey! What's that?'_

'_That, my pointy-haired friend, is "Radiant Glow" which negates your card and lets me do this…'_

'_I know what you're going to do.' Ryo said glumly._

'_Then you won't mind me destroying your remaining Digimon and taking your little trophy then?' she feigned a questioning look. A huge round of applause erupted from the watching crowd who had been sat silent with bated breath._

_Ryo slumped in his seat, defeated. _

_As Rika walked past him to collect her trophy at the victory ceremony, Ryo drew her into a tight embrace which she just melted into. It was at that point she realized that she really did care about him and he about her and the rest is history._

The next year, Rika retained the title in the final against Kazu, who had beaten Ryo in a tightly-fought semi-final. Ryo rose to the top again the following year, beating Rika in the final. This year's tournament was to take place in November in Sydney, Australia and for the first time all eight members of Japan's delegation would be Tamers. Last year Rika, Ryo and Kazu had been joined by Henry and Kenta in Rome, Italy. This year, however, the 8 places allocated to Japan in the finals had all been secured by Tamers – Takato would return to the team after taking a break from the game last year and Suzie and Jeri would be making their debuts after being persuaded to take part by Rika.

Takato is as excitable as ever, especially when Guilmon is around. He was heading off to the Tokyo University of the Arts to study Fine Art next year. He's already had some success selling his Digimon-themed art to collectors all over the world. He got a scholarship as a gift from the government for saving the Emperor from being flattened by a Mammothmon last August.

Henry's going to the University of Tokyo to study Law. He got his scholarship for ridding the dean's house of a particularly stubborn infestation of Phantomon two years ago. But that didn't stop him going into lock down last week to prepare for the summer exams.

Rika would be attending the prestigious Tokyo College of Music in September. Ryo was just finishing off his first year at the University of Tokyo where he has been studying Japanese Literature with a special focus on Myth and Folklore – he's planning to write his PhD thesis on the link between Human Literature and Digimon.

Kazu had muddled his way through his final years of High School and secured a place at the Tokyo Institute of Technology to study Metallurgy. Kenta jokes that he only got the place because the selectors thought he had actually made Guardromon, which Rika thought was probably true. Kenta himself was going to the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology to study Oceanography. Jeri had surprised them all when she announced that she had chosen to attend the University of Electro-Communications to study Computer Science, until she confessed that she was attempting to find a way to extract Leomon's data from Impmon and bring him back to life. Jeri still hadn't given up hope. Even after all this time. Suzie was going to start Junior High in September and Ai and Mako were to turn 9 in July.

* * *

As the night went on, Rika and Ryo chatted about their friends and their Digimon, school and work, their families, until the topic of conversation fell on tomorrow's festivities.

'I don't like parties,' said Rika, 'I don't want to go!'

'Come on! You have to go; it's at your house!'

'What, again? Can't Takato come up with something more original? I mean, he's an artist, isn't he?'

'I think he's still trying to get the first party right before he moves onto bigger and better things.'

'But I don't wanna…' She put on puppy eyes for Ryo.

'Like I'm going to give in to that. Just relax and enjoy yourself, just this once, for me?' It was his turn for the puppy eyes.

'Oh alright. But if it sucks, we're going over the fence and straight to the nearest cinema?'

'Deal. But it won't suck; Takato had a little help this year.'

'Yeah? From whom?'

'From yours truly, of course.' He winked at her. She hit him playfully on the shoulder.

* * *

As Rika reached out a hand to open her front gates, Ryo grabbed her shoulders and pulled her round the corner.

'Hey! What's the big idea?' Rika cried, but she hadn't quite finished the last words before Ryo's lips were on hers and his hands were softly caressing her back. She opened her mouth in surprise and Ryo's tongue snaked in to join hers in a soft embrace. She loved the way that he was such a soft kisser; it was the complete opposite of his tough outward appearance. He pulled away, leaving her breathless and wanting more. She moaned in disappointment.

'Go on, you need to get your beauty sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you.'

'I love you too.' She kissed him on the cheek one last time before he turned away. She opened the gate and headed to bed and he returned to the flat he rented in Toshima.


	2. Chapter 2

'Happy Birthday!' Rika opened the door to Takato, who was carrying a huge box, ominously marked "Party Stuff".

'What have you brought, Takato? Seriously, why do you even bother? You know I don't like parties.'

'Oh Rika, this isn't just for you. It's for everyone, just relax and help me put up the banners.'

'You have banners!' She feigned excitement.

'Yeah, I thought we'd go one better this year. I painted them myself.'

Takato stepped through the doorway as Rika shuffled slightly to the right to let him through. He nearly dropped the box as he fumbled to take of his shoes. They walked through to Rika's lounge and Takato set about decorating the room. He pulled streamers and confetti from the box and started twisting them around the furniture and sprinkling them delicately on every available surface. Rika had to help him pin the three massive banners to the wall which were elaborately decorated with a painted scene of the Tamers and Digimon mid-battle. Renamon took centre stage, preparing to Diamond Storm a menacing-looking Raremon. Takato had painted himself in as Gallantmon, single-handedly holding-off a Diaboromon.

'Where's Ryo?'

'He's there, look.'

'Where?'

'In the corner closest to you.' Cyberdramon was fighting against a SkullMeramon with support from MarineAngemon. Ryo was halfway through a DigiModify and Takato had managed to capture that strange look Ryo had on his face whenever he was concentrating.

'Oh Takato, this is perfect! How long did it take you?'

'About a week, your grandmother gave me the dimensions of the wall last month and then I started work on it. Everyone came by to model for it too – even Renamon.' He smiled and Rika felt funny.

'You did all that for me? Thank you Takato! Can I have it?'

'Sure! It was supposed to be my gift to you anyway.'

'Oh I didn't want to keep it! It's an investment; I can sell it on when you become a famous artist.' He looked crestfallen.

'Oh. I see. Well, I guess you can.' He didn't sound very happy about the idea.

'That was a joke, stupid!' She said, giving him a playful punch to the arm. He looked relieved.

'Good! I still can't tell when you're joking or not. Guess I'm not used to you having a sense of humour.' Rika's hand curled into a fist. He very quickly excused himself. 'Let me just go and see how preparations are getting on in the kitchen.' He dashed off to the other side of the house. Rika chuckled.

'Doofus.'

Jeri was the first person to arrive. She was wearing a knee-length orange dress and had her hair up in her familiar side pony-tail. Around her neck was her one constant accessory – a silver chain carrying a gold lion's head pendant. She had acquired this item of jewellery shortly after the battle with the D-Reaper and she always wore it. She was carrying a present wrapped in yellow with a purple bow which she proffered to Rika.

'Happy Birthday, Rika! How was your hot date last night?' She winked as she handed over the present.

'Thanks Jeri! And it wasn't a "hot date"; we were just having some "us-time" before the madness of today.'

'What's a hotdate, is it like a hotdog?' Calumon popped up on Jeri's shoulder and titled his head to one side in a show of innocence.

'You know very well what one is! We had a very, very long talk about it after that late-night TV programme you watched.' Jeri tapped him on the nose as if to tell him off for being naughty.

'Well I forgot.'

'You'd forget your head if it weren't screwed on.'

'Would not.'

'Would too.' They squabbled their way down the hall to the lounge and behind them traipsed in Guilmon and Monodramon. Takato scooted round the corner on his way back from the kitchen.

'There you are Guilmon. How was it at Auntie Jeri's Digimon Daycare?'

'Takatomon! It was bad! Jeri had no bread for Guilmon!'

'Do you mean you ate all the bread and then there was none left?'

'Maybe.'

'Uh huh.'

Next to arrive was Ryo. He kissed Rika softly on the cheek before giving her a flat oblong package wrapped in silver paper, decorated with small, silver foxes.

'Ryo, you didn't need to get me anything! What about last night?'

'That was my treat.' He smiled.

'You're impossible.' They walked into the house and through to the lounge, where Ryo was knocked off his feet by a running tackle from Monodramon.

'You miss me, buddy?'

'Yeah, Guilmon ate all the bread.'

'What is it with Digimon and food?' Ryo asked the room at large. Jeri giggled. 'I mean, they don't even need to eat in the Digital World. I don't think I'll ever understand them properly.' There was another knock at the door and Rika ran to answer it. It was Henry and Suzie.

'Hi Rika! Happy Birthday!'

'Hi Suzie! Thank you! Oh, and congratulations on that trophy!' Suzie had won the Under-13s National Championships in Kobe last week.

'Well I did learn from the best!' Rika, Jeri and Suzie had formed a sort of club over the past year. Rika decided to teach them to play the Digimon Card Game in time for the next world championships in November. Within three weeks of the club's formation, Jeri had won her first local tournament. Two weeks ago she finished 6th in the national championships to qualify for the world championships. Suzie had finished 8th in the national competition to qualify for the world championships but had quickly asserted herself as the No.1 Junior Japanese player.

'Well that's true!' Rika laughed to make sure that everyone understood the joke. Suzie proffered a large green present with purple ribbons tied into a neat bow at the top. Rika took it and showed them into the house.

'Happy Birthday, Rika,' said Henry as he crossed the doorstep and took off his shoes, 'I'm glad we managed to get here on time this year! No runaway Digimon!' Suzie laughed and Rika looked uneasy. 'Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up, but it's five years today! Can you believe that?'

'And I'll be happy to never see another Parasimon as long as I live.'

'Sorry Rika, I shouldn't have brought it up. It's your birthday; you shouldn't have to remember the bad times. Let's think, let's think, happy memories, happy memories… Aha! I've got it! The time Takato got his head stuck in one of Hagurumon's cogs!' He was talking about the first time that Guardromon had managed to digivolve back to Andromon in order to take care of a Snimon which had appeared in Hokkaido. Afterwards, Andromon had de-digivolved all the way to his rookie form – Hagurumon – and in his haste to say hello, Takato had tripped over a stone on the ground and fallen straight into the gap between Hagurumon's body and one of his cogs. It took them several hours to lever Takato's head out of the gap and he hadn't been able to live it down since. Rika appreciated the effort and smiled to Henry who quickly backed through the door into the lounge.

Impmon was the next guest to arrive.

'Hi, Impmon. Where are Ai and Mako?'

'They have homework to do but they sent a present.' Impmon thrust a purple-and-red-wrapped gift into Rika's hands and began to walk away.

'Impmon! You are not walking away that easily. If I have to stay, so do you. At least stay for the cake.'

'Aw, fine. I'll stay, but only for the cake.' Impmon had an odd relationship with the group, even still. He turned up now and again to help them fight wild ones but he never stayed long. Ai and Mako had never really integrated with the rest of the tamers, not just because they lived so far away and were so much younger than the rest of the group. Rika wasn't really surprised that they hadn't turned up today; they never really enjoyed themselves around the other tamers. She was shaken out of her contemplation by the sound of the doorbell.

Kazu and Kenta had arrived, the last as usual.

'Sorry we're late, Rika. Guardromon couldn't find his jacket.' Kazu laughed unconvincingly.

'Guardromon doesn't wear a jacket, you idiot,' said Kenta as he presented a neatly wrapped present in pink to Rika while MarineAngemon hugged her ankle.

'Aw, come on! A Present! How could I forget? I love presents!' said Kazu, running his hand through his hair nervously.

'Don't worry Kazu! I've got something you can give her.' Guardromon piped up from behind Kenta.

'Great! What is it?'

'Come here and I'll show you.' Kazu walked up to Guardromon, who opened up a panel in his armour and Kazu reached inside.

'A wrench! Why did you think that she would want a wrench?'

'I never said that I had something she would want, I said that I had something that you could give her.'

'One kind of implies the other, doesn't it?' He looked to Kenta for support.

'No, I'm staying out of this.' He walked quickly into the house and down the corridor.

'Hey Rika! I think I have something that you'll like!' He walked back to the doorstep with the wrench hidden behind his back. 'Tah dah!' He whipped out the wrench and showed it to Rika.

There was silence for nearly a minute, before Rika said, 'Thanks Kazu! It's perfect!'

'What? You mean you like it?'

'Yeah, it's great. Perfect for when I want to hit you round the head for being such a doofus.' Her smiling countenance at the start of the sentence became a stony deadpan by the end. Kazu looked nervous and started wiping his clammy hands on his t-shirt.

'Maybe it wasn't the best idea for a present.'

'Relax, Kazu. I don't mind. Give Guardromon back his wrench and then come inside. Or if you feel really terrible, you can go round to the corner shop and get me a big box of chocolates before you come in.' He turned immediately, ran back to the gate and turned right down the road.

'It's the other way, Kazu!' Rika heard a crash as Kazu skidded into a rubbish bin on the pavement outside and then saw a flash of colour as he sped up the road, past the gate, in the other direction.

* * *

Once they were all settled inside, Takato came through with the birthday cake, which he also seemed to have personalised. Surrounded by 18 flaming candles, on top of the cake, in glorious marzipan, was a huge picture of Rika's face smiling and laughing. She glared at Takato, who just shrugged, halfway-through singing Happy Birthday with everyone else. Even as the final notes were being sung, Rika had already blown out the candles and was starting to cut it into 20 pieces – one for each Tamer, Digimon and her grandmother.

* * *

Later, everyone had gotten into the spirit and was playing party games – even Impmon, who was playing pin the tail on Calumon. Although he had abandoned using the board Takato had designed for that purpose and was attempting to pin the tail onto Calumon himself. Calumon raced into Jeri's arms and burrowed into her for protection. Impmon took one look at Jeri, dropped the tail and scarpered to the other side of the room, where he skulked behind the karaoke machine.

Jeri screamed. Kazu dropped his plate. Kenta's voice died mid-note on the karaoke machine, which Suzie used the opportunity to turn off. All eyes were on the centre of the room, where Calumon had floated up with a glazed expression on his face and started to emit a black light. He was spinning slowly, but he didn't seem to be awake.

'Listen to me.' A voice boomed out of Calumon's mouth. It wasn't his voice. Something was very, very wrong. 'The Digital World is in danger and this time the consequences of the Digital World falling will be dire for the Human World.'

'When are they ever not?' Kazu asked, laughing.

'Shut up, doofus.' Rika threatened him with a fist.

'A new evil has awoken in a world separate from either of the Digital or the Human Worlds and is attempting to emerge in the Digital World. It wants to take control of the 8 potent DigiMemories which represent the power of the Digital World and give the Digimon their abilities and their life-force. If this new evil were to collect all 8, it could spell the end, not only for the Digital World but for your world as well. You must journey to the Digital World and collect the 8 DigiMemories before this new evil is able to emerge in the Digital World. There is not much time, you must leave at once and move quickly. Please.'

Calumon fell from the ceiling, no longer speaking nor emitting the strange black light. Jeri screamed again. Impmon dashed across the floor and caught him. He laid Calumon gently down onto a cushion on the floor and returned to the shadows behind the karaoke machine.

'So…' said Kazu

'So,' repeated Takato, quietly.

'We have to go, don't we?' said Jeri, at last.

'I agree.' Rika stood up, as if to leave.

'You can't be serious!' said Henry, 'What if it's a trap?'

'We can't take that risk, Henry; we should check it out at least.' Ryo stood up too, putting a hand on Rika's shoulder.

'Well Jeri can't go, she hasn't got a Digimon, it's too dangerous!' Henry gestured to Jeri.

'Don't you tell me what's too dangerous for me and what isn't!' Jeri stood up and pointed at Henry.

After that, the room erupted into chaos. Rika and Ryo were loudly protesting that this wasn't the time to argue and that action was imperative if there was something that evil coming. Henry and Kenta were more hesitant, listing the issues and hazards with attempting the mission.

'…and besides, we don't even know who sent that message. It could just be a joke from a rogue Puppetmon.' Kenta shouted.

'And it's late and we're not in any fit state of mind to head out tonight.' Henry added.

'Why are you always like this?' shouted Rika angrily to Henry.

'Will everyone just SHUT UP!' shouted Jeri, louder than anyone thought her capable of. The room was silent. 'Let's agree to go on a scouting mission tomorrow morning. We'll all meet at Guilmon's hut at 8. Henry, can you get your dad to prepare an ark?' He nodded. 'Right, Ai and Mako are too young to come, but will you Impmon?' He nodded as well. 'Right, that's that then.' She smiled at the room.

'But Jeri, it's still too dangerous for you to go without a Digimon.' Henry pointed out.

'Oh, sorry! I should have remembered that.' Jeri tapped herself on the forehead with her open palm. She went over to the large handbag she had brought with her and dug around in it before pulling out… a Digi-Egg.


End file.
